1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus causing a recording head to discharge ink to a recording material to execute recording, and relates to a method for cleaning a carriage in the inkjet recording apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
To obtain clear and high-quality recording results from an inkjet recording apparatus, it is important to decrease the distance between a recording material and a recording head. However, if the distance between the recording material and the recording head is decreased, for example, when a paper jam is caused and the recording material contacts the recording head, the recording head may be damaged. To respond to the problem, some inkjet recording apparatuses include head protection members for protecting ends of the recording head. The head protection members are arranged near both sides of the recording head in the main-scanning direction of the carriage including the recording head.
However, in recent years, inkjet recording apparatuses have been faced with a problem, with a decrease in the size of each ink droplet discharged to the recording material and with an increase in the density of discharge ports. More specifically, when ink is discharged, instead of reaching the recording material, a generated ink mist floats inside the recording apparatus and soils the inside of the recording apparatus. In addition, the ink mist soils the head protection members, which soil the recording material.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-192698 discusses a technique for cleaning the head protection members of a carriage. According to the technique, a wiper unit cleans a face surface of the recording head. However, the configuration discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-192698 involves the following problems. Generally, a wiper member for cleaning a face surface of a recording head is arranged outside the recording material conveyance area in a main-scanning direction (the width direction of the apparatus body). Thus, when the carriage is moved from inside the recording material conveyance area to a position where the carriage faces the wiper member, a positional relationship among the face surface of the recording head, the head protection members, and the wiper member changes as follows.
When the carriage is moved in the main-scanning direction, first, one of the head protection members that is closer to the wiper member faces the wiper member. When the carriage is moved further, the face surface of the recording head faces the wiper member. When the carriage is moved yet further, the head protection member that is further from the wiper member faces the wiper member. Thus, to clean the head protection member that is further from the wiper member, the carriage needs to be moved further than the recording head face surface cleaning position in the width direction of the apparatus body. As a result, the size of the recording apparatus body is increased in the width direction.
In addition, according to the configuration discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-192698, since the wiper member cleans the face surface of the recording head and the head protection members, durability including the performance for cleaning the head protection members needs to be assured.